You've spent thousands of dollars for a website for your business; however, are you reaping the benefits of this investment? The best answer to this question is to ask yourself what the overall goal of your website is. If you're like most business owners, the purpose of your website is to capitalize on the growing number of consumers that are using the internet to make purchase decisions and increase your conversion rate.

To accomplish a high-converting website design, no part of the user journey can be overlooked. However, designing a website for conversions is easier said than done. It's in your best interest to partner with a professional web design agency to be able to provide your customers with a website that offers an enjoyable online shopping experience and a clear path to conversion.

Characteristics of a High-Converting Website Design
Intentional, human-centered website design is your ticket to earning more conversions. In our experience, incorporating the following characteristics into the design is the best way to achieve a website that converts:

1. Clear Purchase Calls-to-Action
People aren't going to take the action that you want them to unless you specifically ask them to do it. Your calls-to-action need be be clear and easy to comprehend. Keep your calls-to-action short and sweet. Incorporating phrases like 'Buy Now' or 'Add to Basket' into CTA buttons will increase the visibility of your calls-to-action and encourage visitors to take action.

As a best practice, use wording in your calls-to-action that create a sense of urgency. For example, instead of using the phrase 'Shop Here,' try 'Shop Now.' Research shows that when users feel a sense of urgency, the conversion rate can increase as much as 332 percent.

2. One-Click Checkout
Minimize the number of obstacles that customers need to take to make a purchase from your online store by offering a simple, one-click checkout. Amazon does this beautifully, making it almost effortless for visitors to convert. Utilizing the one-click to purchase method can allow your visitors to make a purchase in 10 percent of the time that it would take using a conventional method.

3. Secure Website
Today's consumers want to feel confident that their sensitive information (credit card numbers, for example) will not become compromised when making a purchase online. Businesses that display the green address bar SSL on their websites will help increase consumer confidence that the website is secure. SSL technology encrypts the communication that passes between the web server and the browser, which makes it more difficult for hackers and cyber criminals to steal information.

It should also be noted that Google gives preference to secure websites in search rankings. Research shows that SSL certified websites receive a 5 percent bump on average in rankings, making it an effective way to boost your SEO strategy.

4. Reviews
Customer reviews are pure marketing gold and are some of your most powerful tools for converting interested parties. Instead of hearing a sales pitch from your business, your website visitors want to hear from your existing customers. Research shows that customer recommendations are responsible for 20 to 50 percent of conversions. After all, 87 percent of consumers place trust in online reviews.

5. Mobile-Friendliness
More than half of today's consumers are browsing the internet via their mobile devices. This number is only going to continue to grow, which means your website must be mobile-friendly if you want to earn more conversions.

We mentioned the value of a one-click checkout, and finding a way to simplify the checkout process for mobile users will result in an uptick of conversions. Faster page load times are also directly related to a higher conversion rate, so optimizing your mobile website for speed is a must.

6. Clear and Effective Product Descriptions
If your website visitors can't figure out what your products are based on the descriptions that you've provided, you're missing out on click-through rates and purchases. Instead, create compelling, yet clear, descriptions of your products using words that your target audience can relate to. Doing so will increase buyer confidence, thus giving your conversion rate a boost.

7. Simple Layout
To increase your conversion rate, you must provide a buyer's journey that's easy to follow from the homepage to your checkout page. Research shows that websites that embrace minimalism with more white space, bigger images, and less text produce higher conversion rates.

Including the characteristics outlined above in your design will help you to achieve a website that contributes to your organization's goals and produces conversions.

Website design is not something that you can afford to get wrong. With more consumers turning to the internet to research products and services and make purchase decisions, you need to make sure that you're putting your best foot forward with your online presence.

Our team at New York Ave can help you with all aspects of your digital marketing strategy, including web development and design. Contact us to learn more about how we're able to build intuitive websites that are designed to convert visitors into paying customers.